They are robots created by Professor Ernest Faraday, who created them by the request of King Logan. However, when the professor realized Logan's intention was to use these creations for an army to subjugate the people, he refused to turn them over to the dictator. For this insubordination, Faraday's business was turned over to Reaver and he was sent to Albion's most infamous prison, Ravenscar Keep. Five years later, when Faraday escaped the prison after a massive riot, he returned to Clockwork Island and used the mechanical beetles to defend him against any would-be reprisals.

That reprisal came in the form of Albion's new monarch, the Hero of Brightwall. Landing on Clockwork Island with Commander Milton to find and arrest the runaway inventor, the duo came across swarms of the inventor's clockwork beetles. In combat, the little robots behave much like their live-counterparts, encircling their foe and pestering them with miniscule attacks that do little damage. However, like real beetles, mechanical beetles will also occassionally latch onto their enemies, which dishes out a constant stream of damage.

In Fable Heroes, they are encountered multiple levels in Albion and Dark Albion. In both worlds, at the end of the Bowerstone level, a giant clockwork beetle is featured in the optional boss fight.